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“Come. Follow us,” the female dragon said.
“Are they dead?” Fel asked, unsure if he was relieved or horrified, unsure if he could believe that legendary creatures could die like that.
“Let’s go before more of them come,” she said. “Keep your thoughts to yourself. This place is not safe.”
Fel was unsure who these new dragons were, but one thing he knew: he wasn’t going to survive long here alone. He also knew that they could kill without remorse. Either way, he’d made this journey to find more dragons, and wasn’t going to turn away or cower now that he was about to find his answers.
* * *
The queen was indeed goingto her quarters, but River still followed her from up close, moved by a nagging sensation that he was about to find out something. Odd how he had never looked much into her or suspected her of anything. Perhaps because he assumed she was just her husband’s pawn, or because women didn’t have a voice in Ironhold, at least not when they were young. But even the people who had no voice could do things, and do things while hidden, while ignored, taking advantage of how unimportant and unnoticed they were. Perhaps that was Kara’s case.
Once in her room, the queen looked behind her, as if to check if she was alone, then entered her closet, pulled a drawer, and a secret passage opened. River followed her and found himself in another room, with yellow walls, illuminated by torches on cornices. There was a low table in the middle, where a small granite statue stood, but no other piece of furniture. Thick rugs with geometrical patterns lined the floor, and the air had an odd smell, like some tea or other kind of herb. Indeed there were some small, dried leaves spread over the rugs. They didn’t smell like magic, though, and River couldn’t sense any ironbringing in the room.
The woman kneeled by the statue. “The final sacrifice has been done, my lord. And the rest has been achieved.”
A raspy, strange voice came from the statue. “So you secured the vessel.”
River faced her and noticed that her necklace was bright. She had a satisfied smirk. “It’s ready for you.”
“Oh, I see.” The sound of a light chuckle came from the statue.
“I told you I never fail.” Her eyes then moved to where River was, that stupid smirk still plastered on her face. “Enjoying the view? There’s no reason to hide, you know? We could be allies.”
There was no question that she had addressed him, looking in his direction, which meant he’d been caught, even if he sensed that his glamour was still holding. He wanted to understand what was happening, but decided it would be too risky, and stepped into the hollow to get away from that room and that woman. Or rather, hetriedto step into the hollow. Something was holding him back. Perhaps holding that invisibility glamour for so long had weakened his magic. Odd. It had never happened before. But he wasn’t going to let it faze him.
River let go of his glamour and appeared in front of the queen. She knew he was a fae, so there wasn’t even any point in disguising his horns or eyes. “Aren’t we supposed to be allies already? Haven’t I been helping your husband?” He wanted information, but more than that, he wanted to regain his strength and get out of this room. For that, he needed time.
She chuckled. “And you assume what? That I’m a piece of my husband? Or maybe his property?”
“No such thing, your highness.” And it was true. As much as River had to honor the verbal agreement with King Harold, he had no such deal with the queen.
Her head tilted and her eyes narrowed. “Is spying me part of your agreement?”
It wasn’t. But he didn’t want to give her any explanation. “You’re saying I have no need to hide, that we can be allies. I assume you want something, right?”
She chuckled. “I… No. What would the meek, humble, Ironhold queen want? Isn’t that what you think? That I’m a nobody, just my husband’s appendix?”
River had to gain time and try to get some information. “Does it make a difference to you what I think?”
“Of course not, I should say. Isn’t that what everyone pretends? And yet we care. We look at the lowest servant and care about what they think. Aren’t we funny creatures?”
“Absolutely.” She had to be going somewhere with all this. “Should I assume you have something funny to tell me?”
She leaned her face on her hand. “Funny? Maybe. Or perhaps tragic.”
River decided to go straight to the point. He knew that even though humans could lie, their reaction when confronted with direct questions could sometimes be enlightening. “So,” he pointed to the statue, “who’s your friend? Care to introduce me?”
She pretended to ignore the question and stared into River’s eyes. Her red necklace was bright. “Do you know why you’re here?”
He smiled. “I’ll be delighted to hear your explanation.” Time, time, time, all he needed was time.
“Men—or fae. Male fae, I guess. You all think you’re so smart. You think you pull all the strings. I’m pretty sure you think it was your idea to come to Ironhold.” She made a mocking voice. “Oh, I’ll trick them all.” She chuckled and then her voice returned to normal. “Isn’t that what you thought?”
“Many thoughts cross my mind. Collaboration between former enemies is always a delicate topic.”
She waved a hand. “Spare me. Spare me your non-answers. My pitiful husband doesn’t even notice that you never reply to most of the questions he asks. But I’m not him. I’ll tell you a story, fae.”
River wondered why the woman was stalling. For a human, she was being quite vague, but he wanted to hear what she had to say.
